Jennifer Gabou Releases 'Division I' Novel

The words sex secrets, disease, and pregnancy don't usually come to mind when thinking about NCAA Division I college athletics. Yet within the first moments of viewing the 60 second promotional video for the sports novel "Division I" (iUniverse) by Jennifer Gabou, they are singed into memory.

"The video was an important part of sharing my vision for the book," said Gabou in downtown Indianapolis, IN. A former NCAA Tennis Team Champion, #1 nationally ranked player, pro player, head coach, and University of Florida graduate she was inspired by her 20+ years in athletics. "My father, David Magley, played basketball for Kansas University and then for the Cleveland Cavaliers. My mother had a front seat to the circus that can sometimes be college sports."

A fiction, "Division I" is an insider's look at the shadows behind the bright lights of major NCAA college athleticsfrom a young woman's vantage point. Presenting an authentic representation of what it can be like to be a student-athlete was important to Gabou, "Often fans are watching NCAA College Football, March Madness, the College World Series and NCAA Tournaments but have little to no idea of what has happened on and off the court in the process."

Over 30 years have passed since the implementation of Title IX and little has been written in narrative form about the current immersion of female student-athletes into collegiate athletics. Gabou believes that now is an important time for the underbelly culture of student-athlete life to come to light, "There is a line on the back cover of the book that rings true for so many in today's billion dollar college industry," Gabou concluded. "Any and everything is possible in a world where football is king, winning is supreme, and all bow to the glory of sports."

Watch the promo video: https://vimeo.com/82971996

"Division I" is available at:
http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000735664/Division-I.aspx
http://amzn.com/1491723084
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/division-i-jennifer-gabou/1118626764?ean=9781491723081

Plot synopsis:

When eighteen-year-old Ally Lancaster sets foot on the University of Eastern Florida campus as a freshman, she's unprepared for what being an NCAA Division I student-athlete truly means. Awarded a full tennis scholarship, she's thrust into a raw, secretive world where the price of success lasts longer than the glory.

During her first year, she encounters sex-crazed athletes, STDs, eating disorders, unpredictable teammates, selfish coaches, pregnancies, scandalous administrators, and an unlikely love interest. These incidents threaten to derail her from her strict virginal convictions and expectation of winning an NCAA team title. Ally quickly learns each decision can have a permanent impact.

Pushed to the brink in every aspect, she is forced to choose between what is acceptable as an elite athlete and what is allowable for her personal conscience. Any and everything is possible in a world where football is king, winning is supreme, and all bow to the glory of sports.

A novel, Division I presents an insider's look at the shadows behind the bright lights of major NCAA college athletics.

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